LOCAL AND GENERAL

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 418, 18 February 1890, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

An ordinary mealing of the Borough Council takes place this evening. The adjourned hearing of the Waipiro case comes on at 10 to morrow, but will most likely be adjourned until the following Monday. Arrangements having been completed for extending the telephone to Waiapu, men and materials arrived by Sunday’s boat and went out upon the line yesterday. It will take some four or five months to complete the work.

• It is said that a Gisborne bankrupt and his better half appeared in such style at the Jubilee races at Auckland that they were mistaken for Lord Onslow and his good lady. This may be flattering to the Gisborne B. and his spouse, but is not complimentary to Gisborne.

The number of deaths from typhoid fever in Melbourne and suburbs during 1889 has been ascertained to be 558, as against 240 in 1888, and 338 in 1887. Tho number of deaths from diphtheria last year was 329, as against 130 in 1888, and 64 in 1887In our advertising columns this morning there appears tho programme of the entertainment tn ba held in the City Rink on Thursday night, to raise funds tn send a Fire Brigade team to Wellington, Thera ought to bo a " humnor" house, Tho men are working splendidly, and deserve to be encouraged in every way.

To the Editor i Sir,—After reading and hearing ot tbe ridiculoijo friction between the two Native Land Court Judges re Waipiro case, I would suggest to n>y Native friends that os tho Native Minister is likely to visit this district at an early date that they, in conjunction with the public bodies who ata going to interview him on various matters, also wait upon him and point out the great trouble aud expense they have been put to in oons*’qtionce of this miserable affair.—l am, &o, A vkby odd Kbsidbxt.

Our Ormond correspondent wrote yesterday : —lt is an old adage that " misfortunes never come singly.” I have to chronicle another accident. Yesterday afternoon as Mr William Wills was out riding, he and another rider unfortunately uime into col lision, and Mr Wills was thrown and had his leg badly broken. Steps were at ouoe taken to convey him to the hospital, where he arrived without further accident, and was attended to by Dr Pollen. »

The local Salvation Army corps Is making very satisfactory progress from a financial point of view—of course gj to the progress spiritually it is hardly within our province to judge, though it must be obvious tn a aatuul observer that good work hat been done. Tho balauoe sheet for the ouartor ending December shows receipts at £lO9 5s 2d, aud after the expenditure there Is cash In hand to the amount pf 18s lOd. The Sunday collections wees f|(j 18? fid and week nights £24 1O« (M • onlleotisaa fop self dnnbl fond were £lO 3s lid and cartridge. jfs Bd. A Hallelujah wedding resulted in a return of £1 17s. The total collentlnn. for the last six months amounted to £221 IBs 7d>

ki the Police Court yesterday morning a little boy named Tuts was charged with stealing five shillings and nine pence, The informant Mr F Bull, asked permission to beallowbd to withdraw tbe charge owing to tfie prisoner's Sg's. Mr Booth then discharged the lad. The pemera was again before tjje Court on' a charge of Uofoe stealing, and the csss yr'as lurtßer" adjourned till Friday. D, Courtney was charged wjth! cruelty to animals. The information was dismissed. Mr Courtney was also charged on the information of G. Pitcher with allowing » dead animal to lie unburisd. The defendant was fined £2 and 11* oorts or in default seven days* imprisonment He states that being dissatisfied with the fle'-ltion h« will tub* th* sen lease out, by wby pwUlti

The report of ths|distribution of prizes at the Matawhero School on Monday, was race.ved too late last night for publication in this morning’s issue. Captain Brothers, of the s.s. Jubilee, writes with reference to the case of the man Haydon, denying that Haydon shipped at Sydney at cook’s assistant and alleging that he was a stowaway. Captain Brothers adds that he put Haydon on shore at Auckland. He had not time to give the man in charge and found he was on board again when the vessel got to sea. No relieving officer arranged for a passage in the boat. The telegraphed report is an exaggeration of even the man’s statement, aud in face of what Captain Brothers states the Press Associatffin has been rendered liable to a serious notion.

At tbe Trust Commissioner’s Court yesterday morning certificates were granted to the following deeds :—Transfer from Kuka Aratapu to Eliza Walker, of Awanui section 3 ; transfer from Eruera Hareti to Sarah Buth Cooper, of Ksiti section 309; conveyance from F. G. Skipworth and Pohoi Anaru (executors of will of Wi Haronga) to Maata te Ao, of Makauri No 18; conveyance from same to Pera Hikumatae, of Makauri No. 18*; consent and agreement from Pera Hikumatae end Maata te Ao, to executors of will of Wi Haronga, of Makauri 18 ; tranefer from Miriams Hinake- to H. Wilson, of Kaiti section 211; transfer from Hirini te Kani to H. S. Saunders, of Kaiti section 203; transfer from Eruera tn Kura to S. R. Cooper, of Kaiti sections 204 and 284; tranefer from Arapera Pahura to S. B. Cooper, of Kaiti section 278 ; tranefer from Hapi Hinaki to S. R. Cooper, of Kaiti section 308. The Wanganui Herald learns on good authority that news of a very disquieting nature has been received by one of the largest investors in the flix industry. The information received is that the Wellington agents of the firm referred to hage sent word that their London agents have cabled to stop buying flax. As a matter of fact two of the principal Wellington merchants have refused to take any more flax at any price. The cause for the sudden cessation of purchasing this article, it is surmised, is owing to the probability that manufacturers have large stocks in hand, and large orders are being executed in New Zealand, which, when completed, will be sufficient for next harvest requirements. If this be so the industry will soon recover the shock, especially wheu it is borne in mind that some of the mills will have to stop owing to a scarcity of green leaves. Between Turakina aud Opunake there can not be less than one thousand persons engaged iu the flax trade. From Bulls to Scot’s Ferry, a distance of twelve miles, there arc no less than eleven mills working. ** Augur ” writes in the Australasian in regard to the win of the Gisborne hnrae Audacity in the Tooronga Handicap I—The style In which Audacity won the last race quite astonished most people, and as the horse was not nearly so fit as be can be made, he must be a regular flyer, He started 41 times in New Zealand, and won 13 races. There was a report current that the horse belonged to a New Zealander named Panettl, who had been disqualified for the suspicious running of his horse, but this was denied. The stewards considered the horse's running for the Anniversary Handicap unsatisfactory, and held an investigation ; and I believe the question of ownership was gone into, but the usual lame and impotent conclusion was arrived at. It is generally believed that some of the recent arrivals from New Zealand are not tho best the southern colony could bava sent us, end no doubt they require the most careful watching: but it is strange, indeed, that the visitors from ths land of the Maori should be so nften singled out, while some of our own perform even more daring deads with impunity.

A good story is going the rounds just now at the expense of a well known local cabman. A few evenings ago two apprentices belonging to one of tho large wool ships in port were on their beam ends, so to speak, for the want of cash, and in their impecunious state were put to their wits' ends to hit on some plan by which they could obtain some cheap diversion. Being, as middies are, ever ripe for a lark, they were not long fighting with the dilemma. A bright idea struck" one of them, and he immediately hailed a passing cab, and the other, accepting the situation as a matter of course, tumbled into the vehicle, telliog the cabby to drive them slowly round the streets of the town. Cabby, evidently thinking he had a good thing on, was nothing loth, and off he started, going, it is stated, the whole length and breadth of the city. After he had been driving steadily on for a very considerable time and had again reached the spot from whence he obtained his passengers, he thought ho would enquire of the young gentlemen the extent of their proposed further travels. He pulled up, and getting down from his seat, stiff aud cold with sitting there so long, opened the door of the vehicle, when ho discovered to his horror that the cab was empty, with the exception of a good deal of tobacco ash on theaumptuous cushions. What the cabby said we dare not relate, but he is silently nursing his revenge.—Wellington Press.

Our Melbourne correspondent writes: — There are three institutions which the people in these colonies should regard with no common degree of interest, because their progressive history is the history of tbe extension of tbrilty habits amongst us. The three institutions referred to are: (Savings Banks, Building Societies, and Life Assurance Associations, Working in different grooves they strive to attain a common object—the diminution of poverty, As an illustration, a few figures may be quoted from tbe annual report submitted to the members of the Australian Widows’ Fund Life Assurance Society, at tbe meeting held last Friday, and they will not be the less interesting because they refer to a purely native institution. Daring last year 4017 proposals, representing £1,096 496, for new policies wore received ; 2685 of there, assuring £703.386, were accepted and policies issued ; and 694, for £J.1)8,450, were in course ot completion, The working expenses ot the last year were less by £14,557 than they were two years ago, which means a saving of about 12 per cent, on the revenue. The substantial sum of £130,448 was added to the accumulated funds, which, at the and of the financial year, amounted to over £700,000. The premium revenue of the year was £174,077 6s 6d ; the interest realised was £39.864 15s 31, making the total revenue £213,942 Js pd. What, however, is vary noticeable, is tfio fact that all claims by death, endowment assurance,, aud children’s endowments matured, bonqsec theraoq, and a portion of the money paid for surrendered policies, had been met out of the aforesaid £39,864, interest earned during the year. Altogether, thia is a highly satisfactory record of a year’s work.

A libel action of a somewhat peculiar nature was recently heard at Sydney. It was brought by Mr Hugh G. M’Kinney against Messrs Gordon and Gotoh, for an alleged libel published in reference to plaintiffs daughterin a periodical known as the Parthenon, which is managed by lady editors and secretaries. It appears that the proprietors of the paper started a competition among girls under the age of In order to see who could furnish the largest number of words derived from tho letters composing th* “regulation." Miss M'Kluney competed, and after close study of various standard dictionaries, she forwarded such an astounding list,' numerically, to the lady editors that they sprloualy questioned tbe authority or existence of son)* hundreds. For greater security they forwarded a list of the doubtful words to Professor Sqott, lyho designated th*ni as pioetly obrelete, and pppn this a paragraph was published' ip «!>• Earthenon SB flip 4 u lfo , *> foforiDing Miss M Kinney that >yas disqualified, hud expressing regral; t,hht |>ad "used quantities of words that aha must have her self invsntai to make up a )#r«' But the sting of the libel was contained In the following somewhat ambiguous paragraph I — •‘ A word hoi* and there wrong we can account for as slips, but when given in large numbers to make a big total w« oan only think they are done with deliberate intention." Blaintiff complained that the insinuation waa that hl* daughter had made but the lift with the dellberata intantion of deceiving, whored* thw- words had been oo)t«Gted In a' perfectly bona-fide-mannet. Only nominal damages wore asked fdr.' ihd’ his Honor gave a ve-.liot forth* plaintiff in the sum of one fartbiog, with oosta on the ißweaaesk. - .

The Mutual Improvement Society mot last nieht (Bev. J. Ward in the chair), when the members continued their lessons in elocution. Two new members were nominated.

A syndicate has been formed for the purchase and planting of 600 acres of land in th* irrigation colony of Mildura. This look* like business, and shows what an influeno* the irrigation system is destined to exeroiM over the future of Australia.

A communication received from Wellington staue that ar a fall Cabinet meeting to be he'd, the subject of settlement in this district will b tone of the matters to fe considered, and there is good reason to hope that a conclusion sati,factory to everyone will ba arrived at. There is now a fine prospect of additional life being infused into this district, if the people will only pull together and mi their face against any of thote wretched bickerings which have in the past done >0 much to retard the progreac of the district.

The “ prophet" Golder is a queer individual. He was arrested for burglary at Mr Flynn’a shop at Waipawa. Last weeek he informed tbe police that be could tell them of th* whereabouts of some missing property. About three yeats ago Mrs Sheehan lost her gold watch, and the fact was duly advertised, but the watch was never found. It was thia identical watch that GolJer referred to. He told the police that if they looked in Mr Flynn’s show case on the counter (in which are kept watches and other goods of a similar nature), in a certain spot under soma of the other goods, this watch would'be found there. Accordingly tho police went down and searched as directed, and sure enough there was the identical watch. How it came there is a mystery. Mr Flynn and those.about him said they had no knowledge of its being there. A Mr Larkins having suggested the fumigation ot mails and pies angers arriving from Europe, to prevent the introduction of th* influenzi epidemic into New Zealand, tbe irrepressible Dr Blakely, of Auckland, writes:—"Fumigating is about a* likely to keep out the germs of an infectious disease a* the seven-fold shield of Ajax would be to keep out a modern rifle bullet. Doe* Mr Larkins know that the only effectual way of destroying the spores by which the germs ot infectious diseases are propagated is by boiling for 10 minutes throe or four days in succession ? Probably after ouoe bolting th* passengers from Europe for id minutes, it would be unnecessary to repeat th* operation, but there are considerable practical difficulties in the way of even boiling them once,"